Chen Deng (fl. 190s – 200), courtesy nameYuanlong,[a] was a government official and military general who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Born in a family of government officials in Xu Province, he started his career as a county chief at the age of 24 and later became an agriculture official under Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province. After Tao Qian's death in 194, Chen Deng supported Liu Bei to be the new Governor. However, in 196, he was forced to become a subordinate of the warlord Lü Bu after the latter seized control of Xu Province from Liu Bei. During this time, Chen Deng and his father Chen Gui pretended to be loyal towards Lü Bu, while secretly undermining his influence by dissuading him from allying with another warlord Yuan Shu. Chen Deng also secretly agreed to serve as a mole in Xu Province for the warlord Cao Cao, who controlled the Han central government. Chen Deng was then appointed as the Administrator of Guangling Commandery. During the Battle of Xiapi of 198–199, Chen Deng led his troops to join Cao Cao and assisted him in defeating Lü Bu. After the victory, Chen Deng was given an additional appointment as General Who Calms the Waves. During his tenure in Guangling Commandery, he gained high popularity among the people for good and benevolent governance – to the point where the people even wanted to follow him after learning that he had been reassigned to another commandery. He also resisted two invasions by the forces of Sun Ce, a warlord who controlled territories in the Jiangnan (or Jiangdong) region. He died in an unknown year at the age of 38 due to an illness caused by intestinal parasites.[2][3]

Chen Deng's ancestral home (and probably birthplace too) was in Huaipu County (淮浦縣), Xiapi Commandery (下邳郡), Xu Province (徐州), which is present-day Lianshui County, Jiangsu. He was born in a family of government officials. His granduncle, Chen Qiu (陳球), held high-ranking positions in the Han government during the reign of Emperor Ling. Chen Qiu's sons, Chen Yu (陳瑀) and Chen Cong (陳琮), served as commandery administrators. Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui, was the Chancellor (相) of Pei State (沛國; around present-day Pei County, Jiangsu).[4]

At a young age, Chen Deng was already known for his ambition to dedicate his life to serving and helping the people. He was well-read, knowledgeable and talented in literary arts. He was well-versed in both classical and contemporary writings and could apply them well to various contexts.[5]

When he was 24, he was nominated as a xiaolian (civil service candidate) by the local commandery office to serve in the government and was subsequently appointed as the Chief (長) of Dongyang County (東陽縣; west of present-day Jinhu County, Jiangsu). During his tenure, he helped the elderly, took care of orphaned children, and treated the county residents as if they were his family.[6]

When a famine broke out in Xu Province, the provincial governor Tao Qian invited Chen Deng to serve as Colonel of Agriculture (典農校尉). During this time, Chen Deng surveyed the lands, assessed their suitability for growing crops, and then implemented agricultural and irrigation works accordingly. Chen Deng's efforts helped to counter the famine and ensure that there were abundant food supplies for the people.[7]

When Tao Qian became critically ill in 194,[8] he told his subordinate Mi Zhu: "No one but Liu Bei can bring peace to this province." After his death, Mi Zhu invited Liu Bei to be the new Governor of Xu Province in accordance with Tao Qian's dying wish. When Liu Bei declined,[9] Chen Deng told him:

"At present, the Han dynasty has been broken and the Han Empire is at risk of collapse. Today is your chance to make great achievements. Our province is abundant in wealth and resources and is home to hundreds of thousands of residents. We hope that you, Sir, can take charge of this province."[10]

When Liu Bei said Yuan Shu would be more suitable to be the Governor,[11] Chen Deng replied:

"Yuan Shu is arrogant and conceited. He isn't someone who can put an end to chaos. Now, all of us want to help you, Sir, raise an army of thousands. With our help, you can achieve the greater goals of reviving the Han dynasty, bringing peace to the people, and making achievements like those of the Five Hegemons. At the same time, you can also achieve lesser goals such as defending this province from external aggression. You can leave your name in history. If you don't agree to our request, then I won't heed your suggestion either."[12]

Kong Rong, the Chancellor (相) of Beihai State (北海國; around present-day Weifang, Shandong), also urged Liu Bei to accept the governorship. Liu Bei agreed and became the new Governor of Xu Province.[13]

Chen Deng also wrote to the warlord Yuan Shao, who was based in Ji Province, to inform him that Liu Bei had become the Governor of Xu Province in accordance with the people's wishes. Yuan Shao approved and remarked that Liu Bei deserved the appointment since he had the people's support.[14]

In 196, the warlord Lü Bu seized control of Xu Province from Liu Bei while the latter was away at a battle against a rival warlord Yuan Shu, who controlled parts of Yang Province to the south of Xu Province.[15] Chen Deng and his father Chen Gui were forced to become Lü Bu's subordinates. In 197,[16] Yuan Shu proposed forming an alliance with Lü Bu, and offered to arrange a marriage between his son and Lü Bu's daughter. Chen Gui was worried that both Yuan Shu and Lü Bu would pose a greater threat to the Han central government if they became allies, so he advised Lü Bu to avoid having any ties to Yuan Shu. He also urged Lü Bu to build friendly relations with Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the figurehead Emperor Xian and the Han central government in the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan).[17]

Lü Bu heeded Chen Gui's advice and rejected Yuan Shu's offer. He also arrested Yuan Shu's messenger, Han Yin (韓胤), and sent him as a prisoner to the imperial capital Xu, where Han Yin was publicly executed. After that, Chen Gui asked Lü Bu to send Chen Deng as his representative to meet Cao Cao, but Lü Bu refused. However, after the Han central government sent an emissary to appoint Lü Bu as General of the Left (左將軍),[b] Lü Bu was so happy that he sent Chen Deng as his representative to Xu to thank Cao Cao and the Han imperial court.[19]

In the imperial capital Xu, Chen Deng told Cao Cao that Lü Bu was courageous but foolhardy and untrustworthy, and advised Cao Cao to get rid of Lü Bu soon. Cao Cao replied, "Lü Bu has the heart of a rapacious wolf. It's really difficult to allow him to live long. You're probably the only person who understands his temperament."[20] He then increased Chen Gui's salary by 2,000 dan of grain and appointed Chen Deng as the Administrator (太守) of Guangling Commandery (廣陵郡; around present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu) in Xu Province. Before Chen Deng left, Cao Cao held his hand and said, "You're now in charge of the task in the east." Chen Deng had agreed to serve as a mole in Xu Province and assist Cao Cao in eliminating Lü Bu.[21][22]

When Chen Deng returned to Xu Province, an angry Lü Bu confronted him, brandished his ji at him and said, "Your father advised me to side with Cao Cao and reject Yuan Shu's offer. Now, (after following his advice,) I have gained nothing, while you and your father got promoted and rewarded. You must have tricked me! What do you have to say?"[23] Chen Deng maintained his composure and calmly replied:

"When I met Cao Cao, I told him, 'You should treat the General (Lü Bu) in the same way you raise a tiger. Feed it well with meat. If it is not well-fed, it will attack people.' Cao Cao replied, 'You're wrong. He's like a hawk. If it is hungry, it will hunt for you. If it is well-fed, it will fly away.' That was what we talked about."[24]

After assuming office as the Administrator of Guangling Commandery, Chen Deng governed his jurisdiction fairly and justly and built up a good reputation. He also managed to induce Xue Zhou (薛州), a pirate leader, to lead thousands of his followers to surrender to the local government. Within the first year of his governorship, Chen Deng's policies yielded good results in Guangling Commandery and earned him the respect and love of the commandery's residents. Chen Deng remarked, "This can be put to good use."[26]

In 198,[16] Cao Cao led his forces to attack Lü Bu at Xiapi (下邳; present-day Pizhou, Jiangsu), the capital of Xu Province. Chen Deng responded by leading troops from Guangling Commandery to assist Cao Cao in attacking Lü Bu. At the time, as Chen Deng's three younger brothers were in Xiapi, Lü Bu held them hostage and threatened to kill them if Chen Deng did not make peace with him. Chen Deng refused to start peace talks with Lü Bu, and ordered his troops to press on the attack on Xiapi. During the battle, Zhang Hong (張弘), an officer under Lü Bu, sensed that Lü Bu would eventually lose and became afraid that he would get into trouble, so he secretly freed Chen Deng's brothers at night and brought them out of Xiapi to join Chen Deng. Lü Bu eventually lost the battle against Cao Cao, and was captured and executed.[27]

After defeating Lü Bu, Cao Cao suggested to the Han central government to grant Chen Deng an additional appointment, General Who Calms the Waves (伏波將軍), in addition to his existing appointment as the Administrator of Guangling Commandery. At the time, Chen Deng was highly popular among the people living in the Jianghuai region (covering parts of present-day Anhui and Jiangsu). During this time, he came up with the idea of conquering the Jiangnan (or Jiangdong) region,[28] which at the time was under the control of the warlord Sun Ce.

Sometime between early 199 and the summer of 200,[c] Sun Ce sent his forces to attack Chen Deng at Kuangqi (匡琦), a fortress in Guangling Commandery. When Chen Deng's subordinates saw that Sun Ce's invading forces outnumbered the defending troops in Guangling Commandery by more than ten times, they became fearful and worried that they could not resist the enemy. They advised Chen Deng to evacuate everyone in Kuangqi and retreat further inland away from the riverbank, and hoped that some days later Sun Ce's forces would retreat on their own, return to their boats and sail back to Jiangnan.[30]

Chen Deng gave a stern response:

"I have been commissioned by the State to defend this land. In the past, Ma Wenyuan managed to pacify the Baiyue in the south and defeat the Di in the north. I may be unable to eliminate evil and villainy, but I won't allow myself to be called a coward. I will lay down my life to serve the State, uphold righteousness, and bring order to chaos. If I am following the will of Heaven, I will definitely succeed."[31]

He then ordered his troops to shut the gates, hold up inside the fortress and refrain from engaging Sun Ce's forces in battle. Everyone laid low and remained silent until the entire fortress seemed as though it were empty.[32]

Chen Deng quietly observed the situation outside the fortress and saw that it was possible to defeat Sun Ce's forces. He then ordered his troops to get into position and ready themselves for battle. When the opportunity came, he opened the south gates of the fortress and led his troops out to attack the enemy camp and block them from retreating back to their boats at the riverbank. Sun Ce's forces, led by Zhou Zhang (周章), got into battle formation to fight back. Chen Deng then ordered his troops to launch a fierce attack on Sun Ce's forces while he beat a war drum to boost his men's morale. They scored a great victory over Sun Ce's forces, who abandoned their boats and fled. Chen Deng led his men to pursue the retreating enemy soldiers and killed thousands of them.[33]

After losing the first battle, Sun Ce gathered more troops and prepared to launch another attack on Chen Deng. As Chen Deng knew that Sun Ce's forces would attack again, he sent one of his subordinates, Chen Jiao, to ask for reinforcements from Cao Cao. At the same time, he also ordered his men to go to a military camp about 10 li away from the fortress, neatly arrange piles of firewood in rows and columns with a spacing of ten steps, and set them on fire at night. In the meantime, he ordered his troops in the fortress to pretend to celebrate on top of the walls, so as to trick Sun Ce's forces into thinking that Cao Cao's reinforcements had arrived.[34]

As Chen Deng expected, Sun Ce's forces were shocked to see the brightly lit camp and thought that Cao Cao's reinforcements had arrived. Chen Deng then took advantage of their confusion and led his troops to attack them, scoring yet another major victory and killing thousands of enemy soldiers.[35]

In the summer of 200,[29] Sun Ce led his forces to attack Huang Zu at Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei). At the time, Chen Deng was at Sheyang County (射陽縣; east of present-day Baoying County, Jiangsu) and he wanted to take revenge against Sun Ce for attacking his relative Chen Yu (陳瑀), the Administrator of Wu Commandery (吳郡; around present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu), and seizing Wu Commandery from him in 197.[16] He then induced the bandit leader Yan Baihu to cause trouble for Sun Ce in his home territories in Jiangdong while Sun Ce was away at Jiangxia Commandery.[36]

After Sun Ce returned to Jiangdong, he planned to retaliate against Chen Deng and launch an attack on Sheyang County. However, he had to wait at Dantu County (丹徒縣; in present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) because his troops ran out of supplies. During this time, he went on a hunting excursion and was ambushed and assassinated by the retainers of Xu Gong, a commandery administrator he killed earlier.[37]

The Han central government later reassigned Chen Deng to be the Administrator (太守) of Dongcheng Commandery (東城郡; around present-day Mingguang, Anhui). As Chen Deng was highly popular among the residents of Guangling Commandery, many of them wanted to leave Guangling and follow him to Dongcheng Commandery when they heard that he had been reassigned there. Chen Deng stopped them and said, "When I was the Administrator of Guangling Commandery, I was lucky enough to be able to repel invasions from Wu. Why should you worry that you won't get a better Administrator after me?"[38]

Chen Deng became affected by an illness with symptoms such as a feeling of stuffiness in his chest, facial redness, and loss of appetite. The physician Hua Tuo came to treat him, took his pulse and said, "Sir, there are several sheng of parasites in your stomach and you're on the verge of developing an ulcer. This is caused by the consumption of raw food." He then prepared two sheng of a decoction for Chen Deng and told him to drink one sheng first and finish the remainder a while later. Within a span of time needed to have a meal, Chen Deng vomited up three sheng or more of wriggling parasites with red heads. Half of their bodies looked like raw fish slices. He was immediately relieved of his discomfort. Hua Tuo told him, "This illness will affect you again after three years. If you have a good physician to attend to you, then you will be fine." Three years later, Chen Deng experienced the same illness again. However, as Hua Tuo was not around at the time to heal him, Chen Deng died of his illness.[3][39] He was 38 (or 39 by East Asian age reckoning) at the time of his death.[40]

After Sun Ce died in 200,[29] his younger brother Sun Quan succeeded him as the warlord ruling over the Jiangnan (or Jiangdong) territories to the south of the Yangtze. Whenever Cao Cao came to the north banks of the Yangtze, he sighed and regretted not heeding Chen Deng's earlier advice to attack the Jiangdong territories. His failure to heed Chen Deng's advice had allowed the Sun family to gain a strong foothold in the region and pose a threat to him.[41]

Sometime in the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, who became the first emperor of the Cao Wei state, decided to posthumously honour Chen Deng for his contributions during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He appointed Chen Deng's son, Chen Su (陳肅), as a Gentleman Cadet (郎中).[42][2]

The Xianxian Xingzhuang (先賢行狀) recorded that Chen Deng was known for his loyalty, forthrightness, virtuous character, and for being a resourceful, astute and deep-thinking strategist.[43]

Xu Si (許汜), Liu Bei and Liu Biao once had a discussion on famous persons of their time. When they talked about Chen Deng, Xu Si said, "Chen Yuanlong has a bold and uninhibited personality. He just couldn't help being so forthright."[44] When Liu Bei asked Liu Biao whether he agreed with what Xu Si said, Liu Biao replied, "If I say he's wrong, then I'm probably wrong too because I know (Xu Si) is a good gentleman who won't say untrue things about others. If I say he's right, Yuanlong would become even more famous."[45] Liu Bei then turned to Xu Si and asked him if he had anything to support his claim that Chen Deng was too forthright. Xu Si replied, "During those times of chaos, I passed by Xiapi and visited Yuanlong. Yuanlong didn't behave like a gracious host as he not only didn't greet me, but also made me, a guest, sleep on a lower bed while he slept on a higher bed."[46] Liu Bei then told Xu Si, "Sir, you have the reputation of a guoshi.[d] Now, the Han Empire is in a state of chaos and the Emperor has been displaced. Everyone hopes that you, Sir, will show concern and do something to save the Han Empire. However, what you did was to ask Yuanlong to provide you land and shelter, and you didn't suggest any ideas to him in return. He hated this kind of behaviour the most, so why should you even expect him to speak to you? If I were him, I'd definitely sleep at the top level of a tower and make you sleep on the ground level. He was kind enough to not distance himself further away from you."[48] Liu Biao laughed when he heard that. Liu Bei then said, "Heroes who are as versatile, courageous and ambitious as Yuanlong can only be found in history. It's very hard to find someone like him in this day and age."[49]

Chen Deng appears as a minor character in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical figures and events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. Although the fictionalised Chen Deng in the novel is generally similar to his historical counterpart, the novel exaggerates and focuses more on the roles played by him and his father Chen Gui in Lü Bu's downfall. The novel also includes a fictitious account of him helping Liu Bei seize control of Xu Province from Che Zhou (車冑), and advising Liu Bei on how to deal with Cao Cao before the Battle of Guandu.[50]

Mair, Victor H. (1994). "The Biography of Hua-t'o from the "History of the Three Kingdoms"". In Victor H. Mair. The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature. Columbia University Press. pp. 688–696.

1.
Emperor Xian of Han
–
Emperor Xian of Han, personal name Liu Xie, courtesy name Bohe, was the last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in ancient China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 10 December 220, Liu Xie was a son of Liu Hong and was a younger half-brother of his predecessor, Liu Bian. In 189, at the age of eight, he became emperor after the warlord Dong Zhuo, the newly enthroned Liu Xie, historically known as Emperor Xian, was in fact a puppet ruler under Dong Zhuos control. After Dong Zhuos assassination in 192, Emperor Xian fell under the control of Li Jue and Guo Si, the various regional warlords formally acknowledged Emperor Xians legitimacy but never took action to save him from being held hostage. In 195, Emperor Xian managed to escape from Changan and return to the ruins of Luoyang, where he soon became stranded. A year later, the warlord Cao Cao led his forces into Luoyang, received Emperor Xian, took him under his protection, and escorted him to Xu, although Cao Cao paid nominal allegiance to Emperor Xian, he was actually the de facto head of the central government. He skilfully used Emperor Xian as a card to bolster his legitimacy when he attacked and eliminated rival warlords in his quest to reunify the Han Empire under the central governments rule. Cao Caos success seemed inevitable until the winter of 208–209, when he lost the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs against the southern warlords Sun Quan, the battle paved the way for the subsequent emergence of the Three Kingdoms later. In late 220, some months after Cao Caos death, Cao Caos successor, Cao Pi, forced Emperor Xian to abdicate the throne to him. He then established the state of Cao Wei with himself as the new emperor – an event marking the end of the Han dynasty. The dethroned Emperor Xian received the noble title Duke of Shanyang from Cao Pi and spent the rest of his life in comfort and he died in 234 at the age of 53,14 years after the fall of the Han dynasty. Liu Xie was born in 181 to Emperor Ling and his Consort Wang, during her pregnancy, Consort Wang, fearful of Emperor Lings Empress He, had taken drugs that were intended to induce an abortion, but was not successful in her attempt. Soon after she gave birth to Liu Xie, the jealous Empress He poisoned her by putting poison in her food, Emperor Ling was enraged and wanted to depose her, but the eunuchs pleaded on her behalf, and she was not deposed. Liu Xie was raised personally by Emperor Lings mother Empress Dowager Dong and he Jin found out, and preemptively declared Liu Bian the new emperor. Later that year, Emperor Shao granted Liu Xie the title Prince of Bohai, after Liu Bian became emperor, He Jin became the most powerful official in the imperial court, and he and his advisor Yuan Shao quickly entered into a conspiracy to exterminate the eunuchs. One of these warlords was Dong Zhuo, who saw this as an opportunity to control the central government and he Jins plan was discovered by the eunuchs, who laid a trap for him and killed him. Yuan Shao then led his forces into the palace and killed the majority of the eunuchs, the remaining eunuchs initially took the young emperor and Liu Xie hostage, but were eventually forced to commit suicide when the battle turned against them. Dong Zhuo then murdered Empress Dowager He and the former Emperor Shao, in the spring of 190, a number of local officials, loosely forming a coalition led by Yuan Shao, quickly rose up against Dong Zhuo

2.
Tao Qian (Han dynasty)
–
Tao Qian, courtesy name Gongzu, was a warlord and the governor of Xu Province in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Born in the Danyang region, Tao was known as a man for his integrity. Also, at an age he had an affinity to learning. In the service of the Han Dynasty, he led the Danyang armies in many regions to suppress rebellions, when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out he was appointed governor of Xu Province and he succeeded in clearing the area of rebels. He was sent to the northwestern frontiers during the Liang Province Rebellion, during the expedition he insulted Zhang and made him very angry. However, Sun Jian and Dong Zhuo served on the same campaign, in the chaos of Dong Zhuos coup détat and the battles that followed, Tao, having returned to Xu Province, gained control of the neighboring Yang Province. However, after that he showed no ambition to expand his territory any further, Tao was responsible for starting the careers of Wang Lang, Zhu Zhi, and Chen Deng, all of whom would play fairly important roles in politics of that time later. Those who did not respond to his requests to him, such as Zhang Zhao and Lü Fan, he had imprisoned, and he also attempted to harm the family of Sun Ce. In 193, Cao Caos father Cao Song was travelling through Xu Province to join Cao Cao in Yan Province, Tao Qians subordinate Zhang Kai attacked the baggage train, killing Cao Song and running away with the money. The death of his father prompted Cao Cao, then Governor of Yan province, to lead an army into Xu Province, devastating the territory. Tao Qian requested aid from his allies in Qingzhou, and was joined by Tian Kai and his subordinate Liu Bei, because of the devastation to the territory, Cao Caos army ran out of supplies and had to withdraw. Tian Kai returned north, but Tao Qian provided Liu Bei with several thousand troops from Danyang, Cao Cao launched a second invasion in 194, but was forced to turn back when Zhang Miao and Chen Gong rebelled and invited Lü Bu to take control of Yan province. His subordinates Mi Zhu and Mi Fang offered the succession of the Governorship to Liu Bei, initially Liu Bei refused and suggested offering the succession to Tao Qians ally Yuan Shu, but Kong Rong convinced Liu Bei to accept. In 194, on his bed, Tao attempted one last time to ask Liu to take over. Tao Qian died peacefully a few moments later, sons, Tao Shang Tao Ying List of people of the Three Kingdoms Chen Shou. Records of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 8, Biography of Tao Qian, book of the Later Han, Volume 73

3.
Jiangsu
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Jiangsu, formerly romanized as Kiangsu, is an eastern-central coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. It is one of the provinces in manufacturing electronics and apparel items. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous, Jiangsu has the second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces, after Guangdong. Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, Jiangsu has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometres along the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze River passes through the southern part of the province. Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, Jiangsu has been an economic and commercial center. Cities such as Yangzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou and Shanghai are all major Chinese economic hubs, since the initiation of economic reforms in 1990, Jiangsu has become a focal point for economic development. It is widely regarded as Chinas most developed province measured by its Human Development Index, Jiangsu is home to many of the worlds leading exporters of electronic equipment, chemicals and textiles. It has also been Chinas largest recipient of foreign investment since 2006. Its 2014 nominal GDP was more than 1 trillion US dollars and its name is a compound of the first elements of the names of the two cities of Jiangning and Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is 苏, the character of its name. The state of Wu was subjugated in 473 BC by the state of Yue, Yue was in turn subjugated by the powerful state of Chu from the west in 333 BC. Eventually the state of Qin swept away all the other states, during the Three Kingdoms period, southern Jiangsu became the base of the Eastern Wu whose capital, Jiankang, is modern Nanjing. When nomadic invasions overran northern China in the 4th century, the court of the Jin Dynasty moved to Jiankang. Cities in southern and central Jiangsu swelled with the influx of migrants from the north, Jiankang remained as the capital for four successive Southern Dynasties and became the largest commercial and cultural center in China. The Tang Dynasty relied on southern Jiangsu for annual deliveries of grain and it was during the Song Dynasty, which saw the development of a wealthy mercantile class and emergent market economy in China, that south Jiangsu emerged as a center of trade. From then onwards, south Jiangsu, especially cities like Suzhou or Yangzhou, would be synonymous with opulence. Today south Jiangsu remains one of the richest parts of China, the Mongols took control of China in the thirteenth century. The Ming Dynasty, which was established in 1368 after driving out the Mongols who had occupied China, following a coup by Zhu Di, however, the capital was moved to Beijing, far to the north

4.
Courtesy name
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A courtesy name, also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to ones given name. This practice is a tradition in East Asian cultures, including China, Japan, Korea, formerly in China, the zi would replace a males given name when he turned twenty, as a symbol of adulthood and respect. It could be either by the parents or by the first personal teacher on the first day of family school. Females might substitute their given name for a zi upon marriage, one also may adopt a self-chosen courtesy name. In China the popularity of the custom has declined to some extent since the May Fourth Movement in 1919, a courtesy name is not to be confused with an art name, another frequently mentioned term for an alternative name in Asian culture-based context. An art name is associated with art and is more of a literary name or a pseudonym that is more spontaneous. The zì, sometimes called the biǎozì or courtesy name, is a name given to Chinese males at the age of 20. It was sometimes given to females upon marriage, the practice is no longer common in modern Chinese society. According to the Book of Rites, after a man reaches adulthood, it is disrespectful for others of the generation to address him by his given name. The zì is mostly disyllabic and is based on the meaning of the míng or given name. Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi dynasty believed that while the purpose of the míng was to one person from another. The relation which exists between a persons zì and míng may be seen in the case of Chiang Kai-shek, whose ming was Zhōngzhèng. Thus he was also called 蔣中正（Chiang Chung-cheng）in some context, another way to form a zì is to use the homophonic character zǐ – a respectful title for a male – as the first character of the disyllabic zì. Thus, for example, Gongsun Qiaos zì was Zǐchǎn, and Du Fus and it is also common to construct a zì by using as the first character one which expresses the bearers birth order among male siblings in his family. Thus Confucius, whose name was Kǒng Qiū, was given the zì Zhòngní, the characters commonly used are bó for the first, zhòng for the second, shū for the third, and jì typically for the youngest, if the family consists of more than three sons. General Sun Jians four sons, for instance, were Sun Ce, Sun Quan, Sun Yi, the use of zì began during the Shang dynasty, and slowly developed into a system which became most widespread during the succeeding Zhou dynasty. During this period, women were also given zì, the zì given to a woman was generally composed of a character indicating her birth order among female siblings and her surname. For example, Mèng Jiāng was the eldest daughter in the Jiāng family, prior to the twentieth century, sinicized Koreans, Vietnamese, and Japanese were also referred to by their zì

5.
Chinese name
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Chinese personal names are names used by those from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora overseas. Prior to the 20th century, educated Chinese also utilized a courtesy name or style name called zi by which they were known among those outside of their family and closest friends. From at least the time of the Shang dynasty, the Han Chinese observed a number of naming taboos regulating who may or may not use a given name. In general, using the given name connoted the speakers authority, peers and younger relatives were barred from speaking it. Owing to this, many historical Chinese figures – particularly emperors – used a half-dozen or more different names in different contexts and those possessing names identical to the emperors were frequently forced to change them. Although some terms in the ancient Chinese naming system, such as xìng and míng, are used today, they were used in different. Commoners possessed only a name, and the modern concept of a surname or family name did not yet exist at any level of society.3 billion citizens. In fact, just the top three – Wang, Li, and Zhang – cover more than 20% of the population. This homogeneity results from the majority of Han family names having only one character. Chinese surnames arose from two separate traditions, the xìng and the shì. The original xìng were clans of royalty at the Shang court, the shì did not originate from families, but denoted fiefs, states, and titles granted or recognized by the Shang court. Apart from the Jiang and Yao families, the original xìng have nearly disappeared, xìng is now used to describe the shì surnames which replaced them, while shì is used to refer to maiden names. The enormous modern clans sometimes share ancestral halls with one another, nonetheless, however tenuous these bonds sometimes are, it remains a minor taboo to marry someone with the same family name. In modern mainland China, it is the norm that a woman keeps her name unchanged. A child usually inherits his/her fathers surname, though the law explicitly states that a child may use either parents or the grandparents. It is also possible, though far less common, for a child to both parents surnames. In the older generations, it was common for a married woman to prepend her husbands surname to her own. This practice is now almost extinct in mainland China, though there are a few such as the name change of Gu Kailai, but survives in some Hong Kong, Macau

6.
Chinese surname
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Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames existed, namely xing or lineage names, and shi or clan names, Chinese family names are patrilineal, passed from father to children. Women do not normally change their surnames upon marriage, except in places with more Western influences such as Hong Kong, traditionally Chinese surnames have been exogamous. The colloquial expressions laobaixing and bǎixìng are used in Chinese to mean ordinary folks, prior to the Warring States period, only the ruling families and the aristocratic elite had surnames. Historically there was also a difference between clan names or xing and lineages names or shi, Xing were surnames held by the noble clans. They generally are composed of a nü radical which has taken by some as evidence they originated from matriarchal societies based on maternal lineages. Another hypothesis has been proposed by sinologist Léon Vandermeersch upon observation of the evolution of characters in oracular scripture from the Shang dynasty through the Zhou, the female radical seems to appear at the Zhou period next to Shang sinograms indicating an ethnic group or a tribe. This combination seems to designate specifically a female and could mean lady of such or such clan, prior to the Qin Dynasty China was largely a fengjian society. In this way, a nobleman would hold a shi and a xing, after the states of China were unified by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC, surnames gradually spread to the lower classes and the difference between xing and shi blurred. Many shi surnames survive to the present day, according to Kiang Kang-Hu, there are 18 sources from which Chinese surnames may be derived, while others suggested at least 24. The following are some of the sources, Xing, These were usually reserved for the central lineage of the royal family. Of these xings, only Jiang and Yao have survived in their form to modern days as frequently occurring surnames. Royal decree by the Emperor, such as Kuang, state name, Many nobles and commoners took the name of their state, either to show their continuing allegiance or as a matter of national and ethnic identity. These are some of the most common Chinese surnames, name of a fief or place of origin, Fiefdoms were often granted to collateral branches of the aristocracy and it was natural as part of the process of sub-surnaming for their names to be used. An example is Di, Marquis of Ouyangting, whose descendants took the surname Ouyang, there are some two hundred examples of this identified, often of two-character surnames, but few have survived to the present. Names of an ancestor, Like the previous example, this was also a common origin with close to 500 or 600 examples,200 of which are two-character surnames, often an ancestors courtesy name would be used. For example, Yuan Taotu took the character of his grandfathers courtesy name Boyuan as his surname. Sometimes titles granted to ancestors could also be taken as surnames, seniority within the family, In ancient usage, the characters of meng, zhong, shu and ji were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth eldest sons in a family

7.
Chen (surname)
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Chen is one of the most common East Asian surnames of Chinese origin. It ranks as the 5th most common surname in China as of 2007, Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hong Kong. It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the hometown of many overseas Hoklo. Besides 陳/陈, an uncommon Chinese surname 諶/谌 is also romanized as Chen and it is usually romanised as Chan in Cantonese, most widely used by those from Hong Kong, and sometimes as Chun. The spelling, Chan, is used in Macao and Malaysia. In Min, the name is pronounced Tan, in Hakka and Taishanese, the name is spelled Gin. Some other Romanisations include Zen, Ding and Chern, Chen can be variously spelt as Tan, Chan or Chin in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. Chen is commonly spelled Chang in Peru, the Korean surname 진 is the Korean pronunciation of the same character. In Japanese, the surname is transliterated Chin, in Vietnam, this surname is written in Quốc Ngữ as Trần and it is the second most common surname. Chen was derived from Gui, the surname of the descendants of the sage king Emperor Shun. When King Wu of Zhou established the Zhou dynasty in 1046/45 BC, Gui Man was said to be a descendant of Emperor Shun, at the State of Chen, in modern Huaiyang County, Henan Province. Chen was conquered by Chu in 479 BC, and the people of Chen adopted the name of their state as their surname. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, Chen Baxian established the Chen Dynasty, the fourth and the last of the Southern dynasties, which was eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty

8.
Eastern Han dynasty
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The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered an age in Chinese history. To this day, Chinas majority ethnic group refers to itself as the Han people and it was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han, and briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han dynasty into two periods, the Western Han or Former Han and the Eastern Han or Later Han, the emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into areas controlled by the central government using an innovation inherited from the Qin known as commanderies. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States, from the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 AD, the Han dynasty was an age of economic prosperity and saw a significant growth of the money economy first established during the Zhou dynasty. The coinage issued by the government mint in 119 BC remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang dynasty. The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations, the Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation, defeated the Han in 200 BC and forced the Han to submit as a de facto inferior partner, but continued their raids on the Han borders. Emperor Wu of Han launched several campaigns against them. The ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries, the territories north of Hans borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Imperial authority was seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, following Liu Bangs victory in the Chu–Han Contention, the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. Chinas first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty, the Qin unified the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their empire became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Within four years, the authority had collapsed in the face of rebellion. Although Xiang Yu proved to be a commander, Liu Bang defeated him at Battle of Gaixia. Liu Bang assumed the title emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu, Changan was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han

9.
Liu Bei
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Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande, was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Liu Bei overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, parts of Hubei, and parts of Gansu. His fictional counterpart in the novel was a example of a ruler who adhered to the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty. Historically, Liu Bei like many Han rulers was greatly influenced by Laozi and he was a brilliant politician and leader whose skill was a remarkable demonstration of a Legalist. Liu Beis somewhat Confucian tendencies were also dramatized compared to his rival states founders Cao Pi and Sun Quan, who both ruled as pure Legalists. The historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms described Liu Bei as a man seven chi and five cun tall, with arms that extended beyond his knees. The historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong gave a description about Liu Beis physical appearance. According to the historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was born in Zhuo County and he was a descendant of Liu Zhen, a son of Liu Sheng and a grandson of Emperor Jing. However, Pei Songzhis commentary, based on the Dianlue, said that Liu Bei was a descendant of the Marquis of Linyi, the title of Marquis of Linyi was held by Liu Fu, and later by Liu Fus son Liu Taotu. All three descended from Emperor Jing, Liu Beis grandfather Liu Xiong and father Liu Hong were both employed as local clerks. Liu Bei grew up in a family, having lost his father when he was still a child. To support themselves, Liu Bei and his mother sold shoes, even so, Liu Bei was full of ambition from childhood, he once said to his peers, while under a tree that resembled the royal chariot, that he desired to become an emperor. At the age of 14, Liu Bei, sponsored by an affluent relative who recognised his potential in leadership. There he met and befriended Gongsun Zan, who would become a prominent warlord in northern China. The adolescent Liu Bei was said to be unenthusiastic in studying and displayed interest in hunting, music, concise in speech, calm in demeanour, and kind to his friends, Liu Bei was well liked by his contemporaries. In 184, at the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Bei became much more politically aware and called for the assembly of a volunteer army to help government forces suppress the rebellion. Liu Bei received financial contributions from two wealthy horse merchants named Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang and rallied a group of followers, including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei. Liu Bei led his army to join the provincial army, together, they scored several victories against the rebels

10.
Yuan Shu
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Yuan Shu, courtesy name Gonglu, was a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the court in 189. Yuan Shu was said to be a cousin of the warlord Yuan Shao. After the death of He Jin, he led a force to slay the eunuchs as the Imperial Corps Commander of the Imperial Tiger Guards, Later, he participated in an alliance against Dong Zhuo led by Yuan Shao. After the dissension of this alliance, he vied with Yuan Shao over control of northern China, Yuan Shu allied with Yuan Shaos northern rival Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shao in turn allied with Yuan Shus southern rival Liu Biao. Yuan Shu fled to Shouchun after repeated defeats by the armies of Cao Cao. This audacious action made him a target of the other warlords and his extravagant lifestyle and arrogance caused many of his followers to desert him. Following crushing defeats by the armies of Cao Cao, Liu Bei and he died shortly thereafter of sickness and in grief. Records of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 6, Biography of Yuan Shu, book of the Later Han, Volume 75

11.
Cao Cao
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Cao Cao, courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty who rose to great power in the final years of the dynasty. As one of the figures of the Three Kingdoms period. During the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, Cao Cao was able to secure the most populated and prosperous cities of the central plains and northern China. Cao had much success as the Han chancellor, but his handling of the Han emperor Liu Xie was heavily criticized and resulted in a continued, opposition directly gathered around warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan, whom Cao was unable to quell. Cao was also skilled in poetry and martial arts and wrote many war journals, Cao Cao was born in Qiao in 155. His father Cao Song was a son of Cao Teng. Some historical records, including the Biography of Cao Man, claim that Cao Songs original family name was Xiahou, Cao was known for his craftiness as an adolescent. According to the Biography of Cao Man, Cao Caos uncle complained to Cao Song about Cao Caos indulgence in hunting, in retaliation, Cao Cao feigned a fit before his uncle, who immediately rushed to inform Cao Song. When Cao Song went to see his son, Cao Cao behaved normally, when asked, Cao Cao replied, I have never had a fit, but I lost the love of my uncle, and therefore he deceived you. Afterwards, Cao Song ceased to believe his brother regarding Cao Cao, at that time, there was a man named Xu Shao who lived in Runan and was famous for his ability to evaluate a persons potentials and talents. Cao Cao paid him a visit in hopes of receiving an evaluation that would help him politically. At first, Xu Shao refused to make a statement, however, under persistent questioning, he said, You would be a capable minister in peaceful times. There are two versions of this comment in other unofficial historical records. At the age of 20, Cao Cao was appointed captain of Luoyang. Upon taking up the post, he placed rows of multicolored stakes outside his office and ordered his deputies to flog those who violated the law, regardless of their status. An uncle of Jian Shuo, one of the most powerful and this prompted Jian Shuo and other higher authorities to ostensibly promote Cao Cao to the post of governor of Dunqiu County while actually moving him out of the imperial capital. Cao Cao remained in position for little more than a year. Around 180, Cao Cao returned to court as a Consultant, when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184, Cao Cao was recalled to Luoyang and appointed Captain of the Cavalry and sent to Yingchuan in Yu Province to suppress the rebels

12.
Sun Ce
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Sun Ce, courtesy name Bofu, was a military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16, Sun Ce then broke away from his fathers overlord, Yuan Shu, and headed to southeastern China to establish his own power base there. With the help of people, such as Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu. In 200, when the warlord Cao Cao was at war with his rival Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, However, he was assassinated before he could carry out the plan. Sun Ce was posthumously honored as Prince Huan of Changsha by his younger brother Sun Quan when the became the first emperor of Eastern Wu. Chen Shous Records of the Three Kingdoms describes Sun Ce as a man who was full of laughter. He was also a generous and receptive man who employed people according to their abilities, as such, his subjects were willing to risk their lives for him. One detractor named Xu Gong, in a letter to Emperor Xian, likened Sun Ce to Xiang Yu, as a result, Sun Ce was also referred to as the Little Conqueror in popular culture. Born in 175, Sun Ce was the eldest among five sons and one daughter of Sun Jian, in 190, a year after Emperor Ling died, the warlord Dong Zhuo usurped power, placing in the throne the puppet Emperor Xian. Regional warlords in eastern China then launched a campaign against Dong Zhuo, Sun Jian rendered his service to Yuan Shu, one of the leaders of the coalition. The attempt to oust Dong Zhuo soon failed and China slid into a series of civil wars. In the next year, Sun Jian was sent by Yuan Shu to attack Liu Biao, governor of Jing Province, Sun Ce brought his fathers body to Qua for burial and settled his mother down before heading for Danyang, where his uncle Wu Jing was the governor. There he raised a militia a few hundred in strength. This small force was far from sufficient for him to establish his own power so in 194 Sun Ce went to Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu was very impressed with Sun Ce and often lamented that he had no son like him. He also returned Sun Jians former division of troops to Sun Ce, initially, Yuan Shu promised to appoint Sun Ce the governor of Jiujiang but eventually gave the governorship to Chen Ji. Later, when Yuan Shu was denied a loan of grains from the governor of Lujiang, he sent Sun Ce to attack the latter. When Sun Ce did, however, Yuan Shu again went back on his words, the disappointed Sun Ce then began to contemplate leaving. Meanwhile, Liu Yao, who was by imperial decree the governor of Yang Province, occupied Qua as the regional seat Shouchun was already occupied by Yuan Shu

13.
Jiangnan
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Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta. The most important cities in the area are Anqing, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing. Jiangnan has long regarded as one of the most prosperous regions in China due to its wealth in natural resources. Many of the people of the region speak Wu Chinese in addition to the national dialect Mandarin, the word Jiangnan is based on the Chinese name for the Yangtze, Cháng Jiāng, and nán meaning south. In the 19th century, English speakers also called it Keang-nan, the earliest archaeological evidences were of the Majiabang and of the Hemudu cultures. The later Liangzhu culture, from around 2600-2000 BC, created complex and their economy was based on rice cultivation, fishing and constructed houses on stilts over rivers or lakes. During the Zhou dynasty, the Wu and Baiyue peoples inhabited the area with heavy aquaculture and stilt houses and they adopted the Chinese writing system and created excellent bronze swords. The Chu state from the west expanded into this area and defeated the Yue state, after Chu was conquered by the Qin state, China was unified. It was not until the fall of the Western Jin dynasty during the early 4th century AD that northern Chinese moved to Jiangnan in significant numbers, the Yellow River valley was becoming barren due to flooding and constant harassment and invasion by the Wu Hu nomads. Many people settled in South China, where the Jiangnan areas warm and wet climate were ideal for supporting agriculture, as early as the Eastern Han dynasty, Jiangnan areas became one of the more economically prominent areas of China. Other than rice, Jiangnan produced highly profitable trade products such as tea, silk, several Chinese dynasties were based in Jiangnan. After the Qin Dynasty fell, the insurgent state of Chu took control and its ruler, Xiang Yu, was born here. During the Three Kingdoms period, Jianye was the capital of Eastern Wu, in the 3rd century, many northern Chinese moved here after nomadic groups controlled the north. In the 10th century, Wuyue was a coastal kingdom founded by Qian Liu who made a lasting cultural impact on Jiangnan. During the last years of the Yuan dynasty, Jiangnan was fought for by two major states, Zhu Yuanzhangs Ming faction, based in Nanjing, and the Suzhou-centered Wu faction led by Zhang Shicheng. Nanjing remained the capital of the Ming dynasty until the early 15th century, when the third Ming ruler, when the Qing dynasty first took over China, Jiangnans gentry offered resistance in the form of denying the ability to deal with taxes to the government. The Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty made many visits to Jiangnan, earlier, the Kangxi Emperor visited the region as well. During the 19th century Taiping Rebellion, the established by the Taiping rebels occupied much of Jiangnan

14.
Pei County
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It has an area of 1,576 square kilometres and a population of 1,141,935 in 2010. Pei County is the hometown of Liu Bang, who is the first emperor of Han dynasty, Xiaopei is an ancient Chinese town located in present-day Pei County. During the late Han Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of Xu Province, before Tao died, he handed his governorship over to Liu Bei. Liu Bei took refuge in Xiaopei when Lü Bu seized Xu Province from him through deceit, official website of Pei County government www. xzqh. org

15.
Kong Rong
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Kong Rong, courtesy name Wenju, was a politician, scholar and minor warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He was a 20th generation descendant of Confucius, as he was once the chancellor of Beihai Commandery, he was also known as Kong Beihai. He was defeated by Yuan Tan in 196 and escaped to the capital Xuchang, for being a political opponent of Cao Cao and humiliating him on multiple occasions, Kong Rong was eventually put to death on various charges. Famed for his wits and elaborate literary style, Kong Rong was ranked among the Seven Scholars of Jianan. However, most of his works had been lost and those that survived can be found in compilations from the Ming and Qing dynasties. This story, commonly known as Kong Rong giving up pears, is mentioned in the Three Character Classic. Born in the former Lu state, Kong Rong showed quick wit from a young age. According to the Epilogue of Han by Sima Biao, when he was a teenager, Kong Rong paid a visit to an official named Li Ying, claiming to be a relative, Kong Rong was brought before Li Ying, who asked how they were related. Kong Rong answered that his ancestor Confucius was a student and friend of Lao Tzu, another guest present was not impressed, however, commenting that a person who showed great ability at a young age might not grow up to be especially capable. Kong Rong immediately retorted, I suppose you were really smart when you were young, Li Ying laughed at this and predicted the child would grow up to be a great man. When he grew older, Kong Rong entered the bureaucracy of the Han Dynasty and he was successively promoted and in 190 was appointed governor of Beihai Commandery, situated in Qing Province, the area most heavily infested by the Yellow Turban rebels during the 180s. Upon taking up office, Kong Rong concentrated on reconstruction of the city and he promoted Confucian studies and provided proper burial for deceased refugees who had no family members to look after their funeral affairs. During this time, he was besieged by a remnant Yellow Turban army led by Guan Hai, Kong Rong sent Taishi Ci to seek help from Liu Bei, at that time governor of Pingyuan County. Taishi Ci returned with 3,000 elite troops, whereupon the rebels dispersed, in 195, Kong Rong was further elevated to governor of the entire Qing Province under Liu Beis recommendation. The next year, however, the warlord Yuan Shao sent his eldest son Yuan Tan to attack Qing Province, Kong Rong was defeated and his family was captured. He escaped to the capital Xuchang, where he was subsequently appointed Minister Steward, during his stay in Xuchang, Kong Rong often opposed policies of the chancellor Cao Cao, the de facto ruler who held Emperor Xian under his control. Kong Rong was then stripped of his official post but soon reinstated, however, because of his hospitality, his house was always filled with guests. During this time Kong Rong befriended Mi Heng of Jing Province, despite being very learned, Mi Heng was unconventional and unconstrained

16.
Weifang
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For the World War II civilian internment camp at Weifang see Weihsien Compound. Weifang is a city in central Shandong province, Peoples Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the Laizhou Bay to the north. Its population was 9,086,241 at the 2010 census, of whom 2,659,938 lived in the area made up of 4 urban districts. Weifang has numerous natural and historic sites, such as Shihu Garden, Fangong Pavilion, fossil sites, Mount Yi National Forest Park, Mount Qingyun, painted New Year woodcuts from Yangjiabu are also well known. The prefecture-level city of Weifang administers 12 county-level divisions, including 4 districts,6 county-level cities and 2 counties, nearby major cities include Jinan and Zibo to the west, Yantai to the northeast and Qingdao to the southeast. Weifang has a monsoon-influenced, four-season climate, on the borderline between humid continental and humid subtropical, with hot, humid summers, and cold but dry winters. Monthly daily average temperatures range from −2.9 °C in January to 26.2 °C in July, more than 70% of the annual precipitation occurs from June to September, and sunshine is generally abundant year-round. A majority of the precipitation occurs in July and August alone. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 47% in July to 62% in April, established in August 1995, Weifang Binhai Economic & Technological Development Area is a national economic and technological development area approved by the State Council. Covering an area of 677 km2, BEDA has a population of 100,000, BEDA possesses a large state-owned industrial land for use with an area of 400 km2. The land can be transacted conveniently which would guarantee the demand of any project construction, the city is home to the large diesel engine company and factory Weichai. The village of Yangjiabu in Hanting District is famous for folk wood-block print, in the 1980s, a large sapphire mine was discovered in Changle. According to released information, billions of carats of sapphire are estimated to lie under the 450 km2 mine territory and it has become one of the top four sapphire mines in the world. The main feature of this sapphire is the blue or close to black color because of the high iron content. Weifang is headquarters of the 26th Group Army of the Peoples Liberation Army, Kite flying is a traditional custom among the people in Weifang in spring time. In 1984, the first international festival was held in Weifang. More than ten thousand fans attended the opening ceremony

17.
Shandong
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Shandong is a coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China, and is part of the East China region. Shandongs Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius, and was established as the center of Confucianism. Individually, the two Chinese characters in the name Shandong mean mountain and east, Shandong could hence be translated literally as east of the mountains and refers to the provinces location to the east of the Taihang Mountains. A common nickname for Shandong is Qílǔ, after the States of Qi and Lu that existed in the area during the Spring and Autumn period. Whereas the State of Qi was a power of its era. Lu, however, became renowned for being the home of Confucius, the cultural dominance of the State of Lu heritage is reflected in the official abbreviation for Shandong which is 鲁. English speakers in the 19th century called the province Shan-tung, the province is on the eastern edge of the North China Plain and in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and extends out to sea as the Shandong Peninsula. The earliest dynasties exerted varying degrees of control over western Shandong, over subsequent centuries, the Dongyi were eventually sinicized. During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, at this time, Shandong was home to two major states, the state of Qi at Linzi and the state of Lu at Qufu. Lu is noted for being the home of Confucius, the state was, however, comparatively small, and eventually succumbed to the larger state of Chu from the south. The state of Qi was, on the hand, was a major power throughout the period. Cities it ruled included Linzi, Jimo and Ju, the Qin dynasty conquered Qi and founded the first centralized Chinese state in 221 BCE. The Han dynasty that followed created a number of commanderies supervised by two regions in what is now modern Shandong, Qingzhou in the north and Yanzhou in the south, during the division of the Three Kingdoms, Shandong belonged to the Cao Wei, which ruled over northern China. After the Three Kingdoms period, a period of unity under the Western Jin dynasty gave way to invasions by nomadic peoples from the north. Northern China, including Shandong, was overrun, Shandong stayed with the Northern Dynasties for the rest of this period. The Sui dynasty reestablished unity in 589, and the Tang dynasty presided over the golden age of China

18.
Yuan Shao
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Yuan Shao, courtesy name Benchu, was a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He occupied the territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty. He was also an elder half-brother of Yuan Shu, a warlord who controlled the Huai River region, in 200, he launched a campaign against his rival Cao Cao but was defeated at the Battle of Guandu. He died of two years later in Ye. His eventual failure despite his family background and geographical advantages was commonly blamed on his indecisiveness. A local of Ruyang County, Yuan Shao was born in a family with members who had served in prominent positions within the civil bureaucracy of the Han Dynasty since the first century AD. Yuan Shao was a son of Yuan Feng and the eldest sibling, both Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are recognized as great-grandsons of Yuan An, as recorded in Wang Shen s Book of Wei. Yuan Shaos mother was originally a servant maid of Yuan Feng, Chen Shous Records of Three Kingdoms contend that Shao was in fact an older cousin of Yuan Shu. This is attributed to Yuan Fengs older brother also lacking male children, Yuan Shao would go on to enjoy more privileges than Yuan Shu, despite the latter being a blood-related member of the clan. When Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu became involved in disputes later, when Yuan Shao was young, he participated in saving some of the partisans from death or other terrible fates during the second of the Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions. After he entered government service, Yuan Shao initially served as an aide to General-in-Chief He Jin and was heavily trusted by him. After the death of Emperor Ling in 189, He Jin and Yuan Shao plotted to eliminate the eunuch faction, headed by the Ten Attendants and he Jin then summoned Dong Zhuo to lead troops into the capital Luoyang to pressure the empress dowager. The eunuchs became fearful and they forged an edict in the empress dowagers name, Yuan cautioned He Jin, reminding him that he should order an attack on the eunuchs instead of entering the palace. After He Jin refused to accept his advice thrice, Yuan Shao, inside the palace, He Jin was ambushed and assassinated by the eunuchs, who tossed his severed head over the wall. Over 2,000 people were killed in the massacre, while the young Emperor Shao, the resulting power vacuum provided Dong Zhuo, who found and rescued the emperor and prince, with an opportunity to seize control of the capital city when he arrived. Dong then discussed with Yuan about his plan to depose Emperor Shao and replace him with the Prince of Chenliu, relations between the two deteriorated and Yuan fled from Luoyang to Ji Province. At the time Yuan just got out of the city gate, Dong thought about sending men after him, as suggested by the three men, Dong appointed Yuan as Administrator of Bohai Commandery in a bid to appease the latter. By early 190, however, Yuan became openly hostile, a coalition of regional officials and commanders from the eastern provinces, including Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Han Fu, Zhang Miao and Bao Xin, formed up behind him in a campaign to oust Dong Zhuo

19.
Yang Province
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Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the Tribute of Yu, Erya and Rites of Zhou. There are four different theories regarding the origin of the name Yangzhou, the Chunqiu Yuan Ming Bao recorded, The soil is damp and moist, poplars and willows thrive there, that is how the name originated. Shen Kuo wrote that Yangzhou is suitable for poplars and Jingzhou is suitable for brambles, li Dou wrote that Yangzhou is suitable for poplars and those growing on dykes are even larger. There is one every five steps and two every ten steps, in pairs and threes they stand in gardens, Yangzhou is also sometimes written in Chinese as 楊州 instead of 揚州, 楊 means poplar. The origin of the name Yangzhou has something to do with water, the Chinese dictionary Shiming, which dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty, states, There are waters everywhere on Yangzhous borders, the waters form waves. A commentary to the Classic of Poetry states, Yang, like the Chinese character for it, the name Yangzhou derives from climate and human nature. Sun Yirang wrote, This land was inhabited by the Baiyue, Yang and Yue have the same meaning, so Yangzhou could have gotten its name from Yangyue, just as Jingzhou and Jingchu have the same meaning. Before the Sui dynasty conquered the Chen dynasty in 589, the Chinese terms 揚州, according to legend, when Yu the Great tamed the flood, he divided the land of China into the Nine Provinces, of which Yangzhou was one. Pre-Qin dynasty historical texts such as the Tribute of Yu, Erya, Rites of Zhou, Yangzhou appears in all these texts even though they provide different names for the Nine Provinces. However, there are three different accounts of the location of Yangzhou. The Tribute of Yu records that Yangzhou was located between Huai and the Sea, Kong Anguo explained in Shangshu Zhuan that the text meant that Yangzhou was bordered by the Huai River in the north and the South China Sea in the south. In modern China, the covered by the ancient Yangzhou corresponds to Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi. The modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu is within the ancient Yangzhous boundaries, however, in later dynasties, the Shangshu Zhuan was proven to be not written by Kong Anguo, hence the books credibility was largely reduced. The ancient Chinese encyclopaedia Erya states that Jiangnan was Yangzhou, with the jiang referring to the Yangtze River, guo Pu mentioned in his annotations to the Erya that Yangzhou was defined as the region between south of the Yangtze to the Sea. This area in modern China covers roughly parts of Jiangsu and Anhui that are located south of the Yangtze, as well as Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, and parts of Jiangxi and Guangdong. However, the city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu is not within these boundaries. Xing Bing wrote in Erya Shu that Jiangnan was a portion of the ancient Yangzhou. Going by this account, the city of Yangzhou was therefore within the ancient Yangzhou

20.
Xuchang
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Xuchang is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast. Its population was 4,307,488 inhabitants at the final 2010 census, of whom 1,952,666 lived in the area made up of Weidu district, Xuchang county. In 2007, the city was named as one of Chinas top ten cities by Chinese Cities Brand Value Report. The prefecture-level city of Xuchang administers 2 district,2 county-level cities and 2 counties, in ancient times, the city occupied a strategic location in central China. Xuchang served as the warlord Cao Caos de facto capital during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, after finding the old capital Luoyang ravaged by war, Cao moved the imperial court and Emperor Xian to what is now Xuchang in 196. In 220, Cao Caos son and successor Cao Pi officially declared the city as the capital of the established state of Cao Wei. The city was renamed Xuchang, meaning Xu Rising, the Wei emperors held court at Xuchang until the capital was moved to Luoyang in the 220s. Xuchang ranges in latitude from 33°16 to 34°24 N and in longitude from 113°03 to 114°190 E. Xuchang has a humid subtropical climate. Winters are cool and dry, summers hot and humid, spring begins early and is warm, rain mainly falls from May to September, as more than 70% of the annual precipitation occurs then. The city has a mean temperature of at 14.5 °C, and its highest average monthly temperature is 27.1 °C in July. Just over 700 millimetres of precipitation each year, and there is on average 217 frost-free days and 2280 hours of sunshine per year. Xuchang is an important center of the Chinese tobacco industry, however, due to economic reasons many farmers have chosen not to plant tobacco anymore. The city is famous for its man-made human hair exports. Xuchang University is in the city, famous tourist attractions include Baling Bridge and Chunqiu Tower. On 18 December 2006, the Oromia Region government in Ethiopia signed an agreement with Henan Province to establish a city program with Ambo. Bolingbrook, Illinois is also a city of Xuchang

21.
Henan
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Henan is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is 豫, named after Yuzhou, a Han Dynasty state that parts of Henan. Although the name of the province south of the river, approximately a quarter of the province lies north of the Yellow River. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou which literally means central plain land or midland, although the name is also applied to the entirety of China proper. Henan is the birthplace of Chinese civilization with over 3,000 years of recorded history, and remained Chinas cultural, economical, numerous heritages have been left behind including the ruins of Shang Dynasty capital city Yin and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng, with an area of 167,000 km2, Henan covers a large part of the fertile and densely populated North China Plain. Its neighbouring provinces are Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Henan is Chinas third most populous province with a population of over 94 million. If it were a country by itself, Henan would be the 12th most populous country in the world, behind Mexico, Henan is the 5th largest provincial economy of China and the largest among inland provinces. However, per capita GDP is low compared to eastern and central provinces. The economy continues to depend on its dwindling aluminum and coal reserves, as well as agriculture, heavy industry, tourism, high-tech industry and service sector is underdeveloped and is concentrated around Zhengzhou and Luoyang. Widely regarded as the Cradle of Chinese civilization along with Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, Henan is known for its historical prosperity, the economic prosperity resulted from its extensive fertile plains and its location at the heart of the country. However, its location also means that it has suffered from nearly all of the major wars in China. In addition, the floods of the Yellow River have caused significant damage from time to time. Kaifeng, in particular, has been buried by the Yellow Rivers silt seven times due to flooding, archaeological sites reveal that prehistoric cultures such as the Yangshao Culture and Longshan Culture were active in what is now northern Henan since the Neolithic Era. The more recent Erlitou culture has been identified with the Xia Dynasty. Virtually the entire kingdom existed within what is now north and central Henan, the Xia Dynasty collapsed around the 16th century BC following the invasion of Shang, a neighboring vassal state centered around todays Shangqiu in eastern Henan. The Shang Dynasty was the first literate dynasty of China and its many capitals are located at the modern cities of Shangqiu, Yanshi, and Zhengzhou. Their last and most important capital, Yin, located in modern Anyang, is where the first Chinese writing was created, in the 11th century BC, the Zhou Dynasty of Shaanxi arrived from the west and overthrew the Shang Dynasty

22.
Chinese units of measurement
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Chinese units of measurement are the customary and traditional units of measure used in China. In the Peoples Republic of China, the units were re-standardised during the late 20th century to make them approximate SI units, many of the units were formerly based on the number 16 instead of 10. The Chinese name for most SI units is based on that of the closest traditional unit, when it is necessary to emphasize which system is used, the words market for traditional units or common/standard for SI units may be added in front of the name. SI is the system of units, but traditional units are still ubiquitously used in everyday life. Note, The names lí and fēn for small units are the same for length, area, according to the Liji, the legendary Yellow Emperor created the first measurement units. The Xiao Erya and the Kongzi Jiayu state that length units were derived from the human body, according to the Records of the Grand Historian, these human body units caused inconsistency, and Yu the Great, another legendary figure, unified the length measurements. Rulers with decimal units have been unearthed from Shang Dynasty tombs, in the Zhou Dynasty, the king conferred nobles with powers of the state and the measurement units began to be inconsistent from state to state. After the Warring States period, Qin Shi Huang unified China, in the Han Dynasty, these measurements were still being used, and were documented systematically in the Book of Han. Astronomical instruments show little change of the length of chi in the following centuries and it was not until the introduction of decimal units in the Ming Dynasty that the traditional system was revised. On 7 January 1915, the Beiyang Government promulgated a measurement law to use not only metric system as the standard, in 1976 the Hong Kong Metrication Ordinance allowed a gradual replacement of the system in favor of the International System of Units metric system. The Weights and Measures Ordinance defines the metric, Imperial, as of 2012, all three systems are legal for trade and are in widespread use. On 24 August 1992, Macau published Law No, traditional units of length include the chi, bu, and li. The precise length of these units, and the ratios between these units, has varied over time,1 bu has consisted of either 5 or 6 chi, while 1 li has consisted of 300 or 360 bu. All metric values given in the tables are exact unless otherwise specified by the approximation sign ~, certain units are also listed at List of Chinese classifiers → Measurement units. The Chinese word for metre is 米 mǐ, this can take the Chinese standard SI prefixes, a kilometre, however, may also be called 公里 gōnglǐ, i. e. a metric lǐ. For example, a kilometre is 平方公里 píngfāng gōnglǐ. These units are used to measure cereal grains, among other things, in imperial times, the physical standard for these was the jialiang. In the case of volume, the market and metric shēng coincide, the Chinese standard SI prefixes may be added to this word shēng

23.
Huai'an
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Huaian, formerly called Huaiyin until 2001, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province of Eastern China. It borders Lianyungang, Suqian to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Yangzhou to the southeast, as of the 2010 census the municipality had 4,799,889 inhabitants, of whom 2,494,013 lived in the four urban districts. Most part of Huaian lies in Jianghuai Plain, which gives it a flat landscape, there are a few hills inside Xuyi. The highest altitude in Huaian is 200m, Huaian also has a large number of lakes and rivers. The most famous include The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and Huai River, Hongze Lake, the fourth largest freshwater lake in China is in the south of Huaian. On the south, it also has several smaller lakes, the prefecture-level city of Huaian administers 8 county-level divisions, including 4 districts and 4 counties. These are further divided into 127 township-level divisions, including 84 towns,33 townships and 10 subdistricts, Chinese mythology recounts that Yu the Great, the Chinese leader with a legendary ability for flood control techniques, was constantly taming the Huai River here in the Huaian area. Traces of the activities of ancient Chinese living about 5000 to 6000 years ago have been found in the area, the most famous of these is the Qingliangang Hill Civilization. The borough area had been developed, and led China in convenience of transportation and irrigation. The Gangou Drain connected the Yangtze River and the Huai River delta region, the Qian Road and Shan Road that traversed the region reached Southern and Northern China. Thus, Huaiyin was an area for several strong states in the Spring. The region was occupied by the Wu, Yue and Chu states, after the Qin Dynasty consolidated all states in China, the County System was promoted throughout China. Huaiyin County, Xuyi County, and Dongyang were built in the region, in the epoch of the West Han Dynasty, Huaipu County, Sheyang County and Fulin County were built. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, great improvements, especially in irrigation, were made to agriculture, in the later years of the East Han Dynasty, the Governor of Guanglin, Cheng Deng, built the Gaojiayang Levees. These 30 miles of levees kept out flood waters and protected farmlands and he also built the Pofu Pool for farm irrigation. Iron-made apparatus and bull-farming were widespread, although a few wars and battles took place, agriculture, transportation and logistics made fair progress. The highway built by the first Qin Emperor went through the region, handicrafts and business also developed during this period, while culture and the arts were at high levels, as well. The Ming Dynasty Ancestor Tomb is located in Xu Yi County, three of the Hong Wu emperors ancestors were buried here, his grandfather, his great grandfather, and his great great grandfather

24.
Ji (polearm)
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The ji was a Chinese polearm used in one form or another for over 3000 years, from at least as early as the Shang dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty. They are still used for training purposes in many Chinese martial arts, the ji was initially a hybrid between a spear and a dagger-axe. It was a common infantry weapon in Ancient China, and was also used by cavalry. In the Song dynasty, several weapons were referred to as ji, one variety was called the qinglong ji, and had a spear tip with a crescent blade on one side. Another type was the fangtian ji, which had a tip with crescent blades on both sides. They had multiple means of attack, the blade or blades. The way the side blades were fixed to the shaft differs, the Ji is popularized through a semi-fictionalized historical character known as Lü Bu. His weapon of choice was the Fang Tian Hua Ji

25.
Pizhou
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Pizhou is a county-level city under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. As of 2006 it had a population of 163,000, it borders the Shandong prefecture-level cities of Linyi to the northeast and Zaozhuang to the northwest. The city was formerly called Pi County, and before that, during the Han Dynasty, Pi was a famous city. At the time of the Three Kingdoms Period, the city is known for the battle between Lü Bu and Cao Cao fought there and it is the location Lü Bu retreated to when under siege by Cao Cao at Xiaopei. He first moved his family there and then he himself after being advised by Chen Gong and it was here that Lü Bu was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Xiapi. During World War II, the Battle of Taierzhuang took place in Tengzhou, in the Chinese Civil War, it was the scene of the Huaihai Campaign. The area is relatively impoverished when compared to the rest of Jiangsu Province, Pizhou lies to the northeast of Xuzhou City at the intersection of the Grand Canal and Longhai Railway. To the north of Pizhou, there is the well-known Taierzhuang District of Zaozhuang City, Pizhou City is home to the longest Dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides avenue in the world. The avenue is approximately 60 km long with one million trees

26.
Anhui
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Anhui is a landlocked province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the eastern region of the country. The name Anhui derives from the names of two cities, Anqing and Huizhou, the abbreviation for Anhui is Chinese, 皖, pinyin, wǎn after the historical State of Wan, Mount Wan, and the Wan river. The province of Anhui was formed in the 17th century, before then, there was no coherent concept of Anhui. In terms of culture, Northern Anhui was firmly a part of the North China Plain together with modern-day Henan province, northern Jiangsu, Central Anhui was densely populated and constituted mostly of fertile land from the Huai River watershed. In contrast, the culture of Southern Anhui, bordered mostly along the Yangtze, was closer to Jiangxi, the hills of southeastern Anhui formed a unique and distinct cultural sphere of its own. In the 2007 book China Road, author Rob Gifford stated that the Chinese refer to Anhui as a big agricultural province, according to Gifford, this is an euphemism for a very poor area and that people have referred to Anhui as the Appalachia of China. The north of the province is part of the North China Plain while the areas are part of the Huai River watershed. Both of these regions are flat and densely populated. The land becomes more uneven further south, with the Dabie Mountains occupying much of southwestern Anhui, the Yangtze River finds its way through south Anhui in between these two mountainous regions. The highest peak in Anhui is Lotus Peak, part of Huangshan in southeastern Anhui and it has an altitude of 1873 m. Major rivers include the Huai River in the north and the Yangtze in the south, the largest lake is Lake Chaohu situated in the center of the province, with an area of about 800 km2. The southeastern part of the province near the Yangtze River has many lakes as well, as with topography, the province differs in climate from north to south. The north is more temperate and has more clearcut seasons, january temperatures average at around -1 to 2 °C north of the Huai River, and 0 to 3 °C south of the Huai River, in July temperatures average 27 °C or above. Plum rains occur in June and July and may cause flooding, major cities, Anhui is divided into sixteen prefecture-level divisions, all prefecture-level cities, The sixteen prefecture-level divisions of Anhui are subdivided into 105 county-level divisions. Those are in turn divided into 1,845 township-level divisions, the Politics of Anhui Province is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. The Governor of Anhui is the official in the Peoples Government of Anhui. Agriculture in Anhui varies according to the zones that the province crosses. To the north of the Huai River, wheat and sweet potatoes are grown, while to the south of the Huai River it is rice, natural resources of Anhui include iron in Maanshan, coal in Huainan, and copper in Tongling

27.
Ma Yuan (Han dynasty)
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Ma Yuan, known by his official title Fubo Jiangjun, was an ancient Chinese general of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was descended from the Warring States general Zhao She, Ma Yuan was a native of what is now Xingping, Shaanxi province. His family was descended from the State of Zhao and his military and political achievements included helping Emperor Guangwu unite the empire and putting down rebellions of the Trung Sisters and the Wulin tribes. He fell ill during an expedition to modern Hunan in 49 AD, prior to that, Ma Yuan contributed to Emperor Guangwus defeat of the warlord Wei Xiao, who controlled the modern eastern Gansu region. In addition to his skills, his exhortations on personal discipline were also highly regarded. His daughter became Empress Ma of Emperor Ming of Han and was highly respected. One of his greatest achievements was the subjugation of the territory of the Nanman regions and it was for this he earned his title Queller of the Deep. He was reportedly revered in that area, and his temple was established somewhere there, the territory he subjugated corresponds roughly with North Vietnam. In 34 A. D. the Xianlian Qiang and a number of tribes, raided Chinese positions in Jincheng. A few months later, Lai Xi was killed on campaign against Gongsun Shu, in 35, the Xianlian tribe were again defeated, first at Lintao in Longxi and then along the Xining river in Jincheng commandery. In the two campaigns, Ma Yuan captured more than ten thousand head of horses, cattle and sheep. In 49, Ma, while on expedition against the Wulin tribes, died during the campaign from a plague, which also killed a large number of his soldiers. After his death, Mas deputy Geng Shu, who had disagreed with Mas strategy, and Emperor Guangwus son-in-law Liang Song, Emperor Guangwu believed these false accusations and posthumously stripped Ma of his fief and title of marquess. His reputation was not restored until his daughter later became empress to Emperor Guangwus son Emperor Ming upon his ascension to the throne in 57. It is said that during Zhuge Liangs attempts to suppress Meng Huo, Ma Yuan was the source of two Chinese chengyu idioms. Ma Yuan is worshipped as a deity in numerous temples in China, the Fubo Temples of Zhuzhou County, Hunan and Heng County, Guangxi are among the best known. Mount Fubo and Fubo Park in Guilin, Guangxi are also named after him, Han suppression of the Trung sisters rebellion

28.
Baiyue
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The Baiyue, Hundred Yue or Yue were various partly or un-Sinicized peoples who inhabited South China and northern Vietnam between the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD. In the Warring States period, the word Yue referred to the State of Yue in Zhejiang, the later kingdoms of Minyue in Fujian and Nanyue in Guangdong are both considered Yue states. Genetically researches connect the Baiyue with Austronesian peoples, especially with Taiwanese, the Yue were assimilated or displaced as Chinese civilization expanded into southern China in the first half of the first millennium AD. Many southern varieties of Chinese bear traces of substrate languages spoken by the Yue. Variations of the name are used in the name of Vietnam, in Zhejiang-related names including Yue Opera. The modern term Yue comes from Old Chinese *wjat and it was first written using the pictograph 戉 for an axe, in oracle bone and bronze inscriptions of the late Shang dynasty, and later as 越. At that time it referred to a people or chieftain to the northwest of the Shang, in the early 8th century BC, a tribe on the middle Yangtze were called the Yángyuè, a term later used for peoples further south. Between the 7th and 4th centuries BC Yue referred to the State of Yue in the lower Yangtze basin, the term Hundred Yue first appears in the book Lüshi Chunqiu compiled around 239 BC. It was used as a term for the non-Chinese populations of south and southwest China. Ancient texts mention a number of Yue states or groups, by the 3rd millennium BC, the successor Liangzhu culture shows some influence from the Longshan-era cultures due to trade and commerce. However, a frequency of O1 was found in Liangzhu culture sites, linking it to modern Austronesian. From the 9th century BC, two northern Yue peoples, the Gou-Wu and Yu-Yue, were influenced by their Chinese neighbours to their north. These two states were based in the areas of what is now southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang respectively and their aristocratic elite learned the written Chinese language and adopted Chinese political institutions and military technology. Traditional accounts attribute the change to Taibo of Wu, a Zhou prince who had self-exiled to the south. The marshy lands of the south gave Gou-Wu and Yu-Yue unique characteristics and they did not engage in extensive agrarian agriculture, relying instead more heavily on aquaculture. Water transport was paramount in the south, so the two states became advanced in shipbuilding and developed riverine warfare technology and they were also known for their fine swords. In the Spring and Autumn period, the two states, now called Wu and Yue, were becoming involved in Chinese politics. According to the Han historian Sima Qian, King Goujian of Yue was descended from the legendary Yu the Great, in 512 BC, Wu launched a large expedition against the large state of Chu, based in the Middle Yangtze River

29.
Beidi
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The Beidi or Northern Di was a term referring to various ethnic groups who lived in northern China during the Zhou Dynasty. By the end of the dynasty they were conquered or absorbed by the Chinese. The ancient Chinese classed their neighbors by compass direction as the Siyi Four Barbarians, comprising the Beidi, Nanman, Dongyi, the four names, or combinations of them like Yi-Di are often used to mean barbarians. The Liji Record of Rites details ancient stereotypes about the Siyi Four Barbarians surrounding China, the people of those five regions – the Middle states, and the, – had all their several natures, which they could not be made to alter. The tribes on the east were called and they had their hair unbound, and tattooed their bodies. Some of them ate their food without its being cooked and those on the south were called Man. They tattooed their foreheads, and had their feet turned in each other. Some of them ate their food without its being cooked and those on the west were called. They had their hair unbound, and wore skins, some of them did not eat grain-food. Those on the north were called and they wore skins of animals and birds, and dwelt in caves. Some of them also did not eat grain-food, in those five regions, the languages of the people were not mutually intelligible, and their likings and desires were different. The Di seem to have lived in a band from the upper Ordos Loop. This area was a zone between the emerging Chinese civilization and the steppe peoples to the north. They seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural and hunting economy, other groups of Di seem to have lived interspersed between the Chinese states. To their north was the emerging steppe society whom the Chinese later called Hu, to the southwest the Rong lived along the northwest frontier of China. The Di and Rong are often associated and both were considered more warlike and less civilized than the Yi and Man, the Di had walled towns and fought on foot. They were often enemies and sometimes allies of the various Chinese states and we hear of trade, treaties, marriage alliances and Chinese politicians fleeing to exile among the Di. 676-651 BC, Duke Xian of Jin conquered a number of Rong,662 BC, The Di drove the Rong out of Taiyuan

30.
Li (unit)
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The li, also known as the Chinese mile, is a traditional Chinese unit of distance. The li has varied considerably over time but was usually about a third as long as the English mile and this is then divided into 1,500 chi or Chinese feet. The character 里 combines the characters for field and earth, since it was considered to be about the length of a single village. As late as the 1940s, a li did not represent a fixed measure, there is also another li that indicates a unit of length 1/1000 of a chi, but it is used much less commonly. This li is used in the Peoples Republic of China as the equivalent of the prefix in metric units. This traditional unit, in terms of usage and distance proportion. The basic Chinese traditional unit of distance was the chi, as its value changed over time, so did the lis. In addition, the number of chi per li was sometimes altered, to add further complexity, under the Qin Dynasty, the li was set at 360 paces but the number of chi per bu was subsequently changed from 6 to 5, shortening the li by 1⁄6. Thus, the Qin li of about 576 meters became the Han li, the basic units of measurement fortunately remained stable over the Qin and Han periods. A bronze imperial standard measure, dated AD9, had been preserved at the Imperial Palace in Beijing and this has allowed very accurate conversions to modern measurements, which has provided a new and extremely useful additional tool in the identification of place names and routes. These measurements have confirmed in many ways including the discovery of a number of rulers found at archaeological sites. The Han li was calculated by Dubs to be 415.8 metres and all indications are that this is a precise, under the Tang Dynasty, the li was approximately 323 meters. In the late Manchu or Qing Dynasty, the number of chi was increased from 1,500 per li to 1,800 and this had a value of 2115 feet or 644.6 meters. In addition, the Qing added a longer unit called the tu and these changes were undone by the Republic of China of Chiang Kai-shek, who adopted the metric system in 1928. The Republic of China continues not to use the li at all, under Mao Zedong, the Peoples Republic of China reinstituted the traditional units as a measure of anti-imperialism and cultural pride before officially adopting the metric system in 1984. A place was made within this for the units, which were restandardized to metric values. A modern li is thus set at half a kilometer. However, unlike the jin which is frequently preferred in daily use over the kilogram

31.
Hubei
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Hubei is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the Central China region. The name of the province north of the lake, referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The provincial capital is Wuhan, a major thoroughfare and the political, cultural. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, the high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province. The Hubei region was home to sophisticated Neolithic cultures, by the Spring and Autumn period, the territory of todays Hubei was part of the powerful State of Chu. During the Warring States period Chu became the major adversary of the upstart State of Qin to the northwest, which began to assert itself by outward expansionism. As wars between Qin and Chu ensued, Chu lost more and more land, first its dominance over the Sichuan Basin, then its heartland, which correspond to modern Hubei. In 223 BC Qin chased down the remnants of the Chu regime, Qin founded the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, the first unified state in the region. Qin was succeeded by the Han dynasty in 206 BC, which established the province of Jingzhou in what is now Hubei, the Qin and Han played an active role in the agricultural colonization of Hubei, maintaining a system of river dikes to protect farmland from summer floods. Towards the end of the Han Dynasty in the beginning of the 3rd century, the incursion of northern nomadic peoples into the region at the beginning of the 4th century began nearly three centuries of division into a nomad-ruled north and a Han Chinese-ruled south. Hubei, to the South, remained under southern rule for this entire period, until the unification of China by the Sui dynasty in 589. After the Tang dynasty disintegrated in the 10th century, Hubei came under the control of several regional regimes, Jingnan in the center, Wu to the east, and the Five Dynasties to the north. The Song dynasty reunified the region in 982 and placed most of Hubei into Jinghubei Circuit, Mongols conquered the region in 1279, and under their rule the province of Huguang was established, covering Hubei, Hunan, and parts of Guangdong and Guangxi. The Ming dynasty drove out the Mongols in 1368 and their version of Huguang province was smaller, and corresponded almost entirely to the modern provinces of Hubei and Hunan combined. While Hubei was geographically removed from the centers of the Ming power, during the last years of the Ming, todays Hubei was ravaged several times by the rebel armies of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng. The Manchu Qing dynasty which had much of the region in 1644, soon split Huguang into the provinces of Hubei. The Huangshi/Daye area, south-east of Wuhan, became an important center of mining, in 1911 the Wuchang Uprising took place in modern-day Wuhan, overthrowing the Qing dynasty and establishing the Republic of China. In 1927 Wuhan became the seat of a government established by left-wing elements of the Kuomintang, led by Wang Jingwei, during World War II the eastern parts of Hubei were conquered and occupied by Japan while the western parts remained under Chinese control

32.
Baoying County
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Baoying County is under the administration of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China. It has a population of 919,900 and a area of 1,483 square kilometres. The northernmost county-level division of Yangzhou City, it borders the cities of Yancheng to the east and Huaian to the north. Baoying administers a total of fourteen towns, in the Southern Dynasties period, Baoying was Anyi County of Yangping Commandery. In Tang, it was renamed Baoying to reflect 13 jade treasures acquired there by a nun named Zhenru and its first local gazetteer was compiled in 1530, an outline in four chapters, followed by a 10-chapter gazetteer of 1567-70. The county suffered from flooding and from piracy in Ming times, illustrated Album of Yangzhou Prefecture, from 1573–1620, has illustrations of Baoying

33.
Suzhou
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Suzhou, formerly romanized as Soochow, is a major city located in southeastern Jiangsu Province of East China, about 100 km northwest of Shanghai. It is an economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. The city is situated on the reaches of the Yangtze River. Administratively, Suzhou is a city with a population of 4.33 million in its city proper. Its urban population grew at a rate of 6. 5% between 2000 and 2014, which is the highest among cities with more than 5 million people. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou has over 2,500 years of history, with an abundant display of relics, around AD100, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, it became one of the ten largest cities in the world mostly due to emigration from Northern China. Since the 10th-century Song Dynasty, it has been an important commercial center of China, during the Ming and Qing Dynasty, Suzhou was a national economic, cultural, and commercial center, as well as the largest non-capital city in the world, until the 1860 Taiping Rebellion. When Li Hongzhang and Charles George Gordon recaptured the city three years later, Shanghai had already taken its predominant place in the nation. Since major economic reforms began in 1978, Suzhou has become one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The citys canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens have contributed to its status as one of the top tourist attractions in China, the Classical Gardens of Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000. Suzhou is often dubbed the Venice of the East or Venice of China, during the Zhou, a settlement known as Gusu after nearby Mount Gusu became the capital of the state of Wu. From this role, it came to be called Wu as well. In 514 BC, King Helü of Wu established a new capital nearby at Helü City, during the Warring States period, Helü City continued to serve as the local seat of government. From the areas it administered, it known as Wuxian. Under the Qin, it was known as Kuaiji after its greatly enlarged commandery, the name Suzhou was first officially used for the city in AD589 during the Sui dynasty. The character 蘇 or 苏 is a contraction of the mountain, the sū in its name refers to the mint perilla. The character 州 originally meant something like a province or county, Suzhou is the Hanyu Pinyin spelling of the Mandarin pronunciation of the name. Prior to the adoption of pinyin, it was romanized as Soo-chow, Suchow, Su-chow

Emperor Xian of Han
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Emperor Xian of Han, personal name Liu Xie, courtesy name Bohe, was the last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in ancient China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 10 December 220, Liu Xie was a son of Liu Hong and was a younger half-brother of his predecessor, Liu Bian. In 189, at the age of eight, he became emperor after the warlord Dong Zhu

Tao Qian (Han dynasty)
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Tao Qian, courtesy name Gongzu, was a warlord and the governor of Xu Province in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Born in the Danyang region, Tao was known as a man for his integrity. Also, at an age he had an affinity to learning. In the service of the Han Dynasty, he led the Danyang armies in many regions to suppress rebellions, when the Yellow Turb

Jiangsu
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Jiangsu, formerly romanized as Kiangsu, is an eastern-central coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. It is one of the provinces in manufacturing electronics and apparel items. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous, Jiangsu has the second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces, after Guangdong. Jiangsu borders Shandong in

1.
One of the tortoise stelae of Xiao Dan (478—522), a member of the Liang royal family. Ganjiaxiang, Qixia District, near Nanjing

2.
Map showing the location of Jiangsu Province

3.
The Huqiu Tower of Tiger Hill, Suzhou, built in 961.

4.
The Beisi Pagoda of Suzhou, built between 1131 and 1162 during the Song Dynasty, 76 m (243 ft) tall.

Courtesy name
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A courtesy name, also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to ones given name. This practice is a tradition in East Asian cultures, including China, Japan, Korea, formerly in China, the zi would replace a males given name when he turned twenty, as a symbol of adulthood and respect. It could be either by the pa

1.
Courtesy name (Zi)

Chinese name
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Chinese personal names are names used by those from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora overseas. Prior to the 20th century, educated Chinese also utilized a courtesy name or style name called zi by which they were known among those outside of their family and closest friends. From at least the time of the Shang dynas

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The signature of Sun Yat-sen; in English Chinese people usually keep their names in Chinese order unless they live or travel abroad

Chinese surname
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Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames existed, namely xing or lineage names, and shi or clan names, Chinese family names are patrilineal, passed from father to

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Many village names in China are linked to surnames. Pictured is Jiajiayuan (贾家源), i.e. " Jia Family 's Spring", in Honggang Town, Tongshan County, Hubei

Chen (surname)
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Chen is one of the most common East Asian surnames of Chinese origin. It ranks as the 5th most common surname in China as of 2007, Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hong Kong. It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the hometown of many overseas Hoklo. Besides 陳/陈, an uncommon Chinese surname 諶/谌 is also roma

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The Chen Clan Academy in Guangzhou, China

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Chen surname in regular script

Eastern Han dynasty
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The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered an age in Chinese history. To this day, Chinas majority ethnic group refers to itself as the Han people and it was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known po

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History of China

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A map of the Western Han Dynasty in 2 AD: 1) the territory shaded in dark blue represents the principalities and centrally-administered commanderies of the Han Empire; 2) the light blue area shows the extent of the Tarim Basin protectorate of the Western Regions.

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A silk banner from Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan province. It was draped over the coffin of Lady Dai (d. 168 BC), wife of the Marquess Li Cang (利蒼) (d. 186 BC), chancellor for the Kingdom of Changsha.

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Han dynasty in 1 AD.

Liu Bei
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Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande, was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Liu Bei overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, parts of Hubei, and parts of Gansu. His fiction

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Liu Bei

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Statue of Liu Bei in Zhuge Liang 's temple in Chengdu

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Liu Bei declares himself king, portrait at the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace, Beijing

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Tomb of Liu Bei

Yuan Shu
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Yuan Shu, courtesy name Gonglu, was a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the court in 189. Yuan Shu was said to be a cousin of the warlord Yuan Shao. After the death of He Jin, he led a force to slay the eunuchs as the Imperial Corps Commander of the Imperial Tiger Guards, Later, he pa

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A Qing dynasty illustration of Yuan Shu

Cao Cao
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Cao Cao, courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty who rose to great power in the final years of the dynasty. As one of the figures of the Three Kingdoms period. During the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, Cao Cao was able to secure the most populated and prosperous cities of the central p

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A Ming dynasty block print portrait of Cao Cao from Sancai Tuhui.

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Statue of Cao Cao in Wuhan, Hubei Province

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Traditional site of the Red Cliffs, north of Wulin, Hubei.

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A mask of Cao Cao in Chinese opera.

Sun Ce
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Sun Ce, courtesy name Bofu, was a military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16, Sun Ce then broke away from his fathers overlord, Yuan Shu, and headed to southeastern China to establish his own power base there. With

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Sun Ce

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Sun Ce's territory around 200 A. D.

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The northern part of Yang Province where Sun Ce was active in detail. Several locales of relevance are pin-pointed on this map.

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Statues of Sun Ce (right) and Sun Quan (left)

Jiangnan
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Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta. The most important cities in the area are Anqing, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing. Jiangnan has long regard

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Xishi bridge, Mudu, Suzhou

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Village in Jiangnan

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A stone tortoise with a tablet commemorating the Kangxi Emperor 's visit to Nanjing in 1684

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Shizilin

Pei County
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It has an area of 1,576 square kilometres and a population of 1,141,935 in 2010. Pei County is the hometown of Liu Bang, who is the first emperor of Han dynasty, Xiaopei is an ancient Chinese town located in present-day Pei County. During the late Han Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of Xu Province, before Tao died, he handed his governorship

Kong Rong
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Kong Rong, courtesy name Wenju, was a politician, scholar and minor warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He was a 20th generation descendant of Confucius, as he was once the chancellor of Beihai Commandery, he was also known as Kong Beihai. He was defeated by Yuan Tan in 196 and escaped to the capital Xuchang, for being a political op

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A Qing dynasty portrait of Kong Rong

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Kong Rong gives up his pears. Portrait at the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace, Beijing

Weifang
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For the World War II civilian internment camp at Weifang see Weihsien Compound. Weifang is a city in central Shandong province, Peoples Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the Laizhou Bay to the north. Its population was 9

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Dongfeng Street in Downtown Weifang

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The German train station in Euro town Wei Fang

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Kite Museum in Weifang

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Chinese papercutting, in a style that is practically identical to the original 6th century form

Shandong
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Shandong is a coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China, and is part of the East China region. Shandongs Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddh

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A Song -era monument to a legendary native of Shandong, the Yellow Emperor, at his supposed birthplace

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Map showing the location of Shandong Province

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Dezhou, Shandong.

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The sacred Mount Tai.

Yuan Shao
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Yuan Shao, courtesy name Benchu, was a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He occupied the territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty. He was also an elder half-brother of Yuan Shu, a warlord who controlled the Huai River region, in 200, he launched a campaign against his rival Cao Cao

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Portrait of Yuan Shao in a Qing Dynasty edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Yang Province
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Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the Tribute of Yu, Erya and Rites of Zhou. There are four different theories regarding the origin of the name Yangzhou, the Chunqiu Yuan Ming Bao recorded, The soil is damp and moist, poplars and willows thrive there, that is how

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A turtle-shaped gold seal of the Prince of Guangling in the Han dynasty. Excavated in Ganquan Town, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou in 1980, it is now on display in the Han Guangling Royal Tomb Museum in Yangzhou.

Xuchang
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Xuchang is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast. Its population was 4,307,488 inhabitants at the final 2010 census, of whom 1,952,666 lived in the area made up of Weidu district, Xuchang county.

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Administration map

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Location of Xuchang City jurisdiction in Henan

Henan
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Henan is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is 豫, named after Yuzhou, a Han Dynasty state that parts of Henan. Although the name of the province south of the river, approximately a quarter of the province lies north of the Yellow River. Henan is often referred to a

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A Yangshao pot carving of an owl

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Map showing the location of Henan Province

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Shang Dynasty oracle bone script, the first form of Chinese writing

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Longmen Grottoes (Mt. Longmen), Luoyang, Henan

Chinese units of measurement
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Chinese units of measurement are the customary and traditional units of measure used in China. In the Peoples Republic of China, the units were re-standardised during the late 20th century to make them approximate SI units, many of the units were formerly based on the number 16 instead of 10. The Chinese name for most SI units is based on that of t

Huai'an
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Huaian, formerly called Huaiyin until 2001, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province of Eastern China. It borders Lianyungang, Suqian to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Yangzhou to the southeast, as of the 2010 census the municipality had 4,799,889 inhabitants, of whom 2,494,013 lived in the four urban districts. Most part of Hu

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Gate tower in Huai'an

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The site of the prefecture headquarter in imperial times

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Jiaotong Pagoda

Ji (polearm)
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The ji was a Chinese polearm used in one form or another for over 3000 years, from at least as early as the Shang dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty. They are still used for training purposes in many Chinese martial arts, the ji was initially a hybrid between a spear and a dagger-axe. It was a common infantry weapon in Ancient China, and was

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A man holding an ancient ji.

Pizhou
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Pizhou is a county-level city under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. As of 2006 it had a population of 163,000, it borders the Shandong prefecture-level cities of Linyi to the northeast and Zaozhuang to the northwest. The city was formerly called Pi County, and before that, during the Han Dynasty, Pi was a famous city. At the

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View of the Grand Canal of China in Pizhou

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Pizhou

Anhui
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Anhui is a landlocked province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the eastern region of the country. The name Anhui derives from the names of two cities, Anqing and Huizhou, the abbreviation for Anhui is Chinese, 皖, pinyin, wǎn after the historical State of Wan, Mount Wan, and the Wan river. The province of Anhui was formed in the 17th cen

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The Yangtze River bisects the province diagonally. Pictured: The Anqing Yangtze River Bridge

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Map showing the location of Anhui Province

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A street in Zhide (至德), a town, historically known as Yaodu (尧度), in Dongzhi County

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Electric locomotive at Bengbu in northern Anhui

Ma Yuan (Han dynasty)
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Ma Yuan, known by his official title Fubo Jiangjun, was an ancient Chinese general of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was descended from the Warring States general Zhao She, Ma Yuan was a native of what is now Xingping, Shaanxi province. His family was descended from the State of Zhao and his military and political achievements included helping Emperor

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Ma Yuan's statue on Mount Fubo, Guilin

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Ma Yuan's statue in Hainan

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Fubo Temple in Zhuzhou County, Hunan

Baiyue
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The Baiyue, Hundred Yue or Yue were various partly or un-Sinicized peoples who inhabited South China and northern Vietnam between the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD. In the Warring States period, the word Yue referred to the State of Yue in Zhejiang, the later kingdoms of Minyue in Fujian and Nanyue in Guangdong are both considered

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Ancient tiles found in Fuzhou (Minyue state)

Beidi
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The Beidi or Northern Di was a term referring to various ethnic groups who lived in northern China during the Zhou Dynasty. By the end of the dynasty they were conquered or absorbed by the Chinese. The ancient Chinese classed their neighbors by compass direction as the Siyi Four Barbarians, comprising the Beidi, Nanman, Dongyi, the four names, or c

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Di lived along the northern edge of what later became the Qin Empire

Li (unit)
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The li, also known as the Chinese mile, is a traditional Chinese unit of distance. The li has varied considerably over time but was usually about a third as long as the English mile and this is then divided into 1,500 chi or Chinese feet. The character 里 combines the characters for field and earth, since it was considered to be about the length of

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A section of the Song -era Anping Bridge in Fujian. The bridge is commonly known as the "Five-Li Bridge" due to its length.

Hubei
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Hubei is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the Central China region. The name of the province north of the lake, referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The provincial capital is Wuhan, a major thoroughfare and the political, cultural. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan

Baoying County
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Baoying County is under the administration of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China. It has a population of 919,900 and a area of 1,483 square kilometres. The northernmost county-level division of Yangzhou City, it borders the cities of Yancheng to the east and Huaian to the north. Baoying administers a total of fourteen towns, in the Southern Dynastie

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Baoying

Suzhou
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Suzhou, formerly romanized as Soochow, is a major city located in southeastern Jiangsu Province of East China, about 100 km northwest of Shanghai. It is an economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. The city is situated on the reaches of the Yangtze River. Administratively, Suzhou is a city with a population of 4.33 million in its city

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A map of the battle. It shows the movements during the battles of Boma and Yan Ford. Flanking attempts are not shown. Note that the Yellow River has changed course over the centuries and the places depicted are no longer at the same locations relative to the river.